Christian Piatt's Blog, page 72

Romney Video Points to Heart of GOP Disdain

Recently, the left-leaning news outlet, Mother Jones, reported a story about Mitt Romney that included several video clips taken of him (unknown to him) at a fundraiser. Most of the clips are fairly benign, with him hitting many of the fiscally conservative talking points. But in one clip in particular, he gets pretty personal and [...]

Church Sign Epic Fails, Miraculous Mashup (Vol. 31)

This week, we have a kind of mashup of kitsch, signs and other stuff I’ve collected recently that’s just too good to wait for a theme to share. So enjoy this Jambalaya-style dish of Church Sign Epic Fails… Church Sign Epic Fails: Holy Kitsch Edition Church Sign Epic Location Fails (Vol. 29) Church Sign Epic [...]

“Innocence of Muslims” Video Suggests a Fetish for Armageddon

I finally sat down and watched the entire 11-plus minute video, “Innocence of Muslims,” which is at the heart of the recent outrage in Islamic countries in Yemen and north Africa.  Suffice it to say that I lost a healthy share of brain cells in the process. The narrative – if you can call it [...]

Is the Dalai Lama Calling for the End of Religion?

My friend, Doug, is not what I’d call a religious person. He grew up in church but has since taken to a combination of practicing martial arts, yoga and independent study, primarily of Buddhist philosophy. In a lot of ways, his journey is a familiar one for younger adults today (he and I are both [...]

Where is God in 9/11?

I was home sick on September 11th, 2001. Amy had left for her grad school classes, so I was a little bit annoyed when she burst back in and woke me up. “Turn on the TV,” she said. “Something bad is happening. Really bad.” While watching the replayed video of the plane colliding with the [...]

Church Sign Epic Fails: Holy Kitsch Edition

After half a year of signs, I decided it was time to branch out and bring in some other items of holy fantabulousness. Christian humor (intentional or not), after all, is hardly limited to the signs outside the front door.

Identity Theft: When Politicians Hijack Jesus’ Name

Gotta say I’m a big fan of this church sign at my father-in-law’s church: It’s time to STOP: Using faith, Jesus and the Bible as a political platform; Cherry-picking from the Gospel based on what polls well; Claiming Jesus would be so myopic to identify with either of our major political parties; Calling yourself a [...]

Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (Part 2)

This is kind of a three-part blog post series.  I wrote about part of the discussion I was a part of at Wild Goose Festival on Masculinity and male identity two days ago, and yesterday, I shared the first half of the story I told during that workshop. Below is the second and last part of [...]

Bromosapien: Evolution of the Postmodern Male (part 1)

Yesterday I wrote about part of the discussion that took place around our Wild Goose Festival panel on masculinity and male identity. A few folks asked about the story I told during the panel, so I thought I’d share it here. It’s a bit long, so I’ll offer it in two parts, with part two [...]

White Man: “We Built This Country.” Really?

The Wild Goose Festival was awesome as expected this weekend in Corvalis, Oregon. About a thousand folks gathered for the first-ever west coast version of the event started in North Carolina. There were artists, theologians, pastors, hippies, activists, poets and any number of other curious observers, navigating the landscape to better understand where this movement [...]